PARIS — There will be a changing of the guard at the helm of Creed.
Sarah Rotheram is stepping down as the high-end niche fragrance brand’s chief executive officer at the end of October, according to a statement obtained from Creed’s parent company Kering.
No successor to Rotheram has yet been named. In the interim, Kering Beauté’s CEO Raffaella Cornaggia will manage Creed’s executive leadership team and the brand’s strategic development.
Kering Beauté revealed it was acquiring Creed in late June 2023 in a deal that reportedly cost about $3.8 billion. That marked the French luxury group’s first major acquisition after starting to build an in-house beauty division in early February 2023.
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Creed is, as well, the first niche fragrance brand to be owned by Kering, giving it entrée into a red-hot product segment.
“Sarah has brought energy, passion and professionalism to her time at Creed, and I want to thank her for all that she has achieved with this fantastic brand,” Cornaggia said in the statement. “She has built a great team, and she leaves the business well-positioned to enter its next stage of growth.”
Cornaggia said while working with Rotheram and her colleagues over the past year, they’ve successfully continued delivering on the acquisition strategy, notably in expanding the feminine fragrance portfolio and pushing sales momentum.
“Creed still has tremendous potential, and I want to warmly thank Sarah for setting the business on the path to continued success, and also wish her the best on her next endeavor,” Cornaggia said.
Rotheram said: “I am extremely grateful to have worked with such a fantastic brand and team with the support of two great owners of this brand, and achieved together all the things I set out to do when taking on this job five years ago.”
She shared thanks with the entire team, distributors, retailers and customers, too. Rotheram said she looks forward to seeing Creed go from strength to strength.
“As I believed right from the start of the journey with Kering, the opportunity for this unique heritage perfume house to be welcomed into such an iconic family of global luxury houses is immense,” she said. “A shareholder like Kering Beauté, who embodies our values of craftsmanship, innovation and commitment to quality, allows Creed to enjoy even longer-term strategic thinking, and to continue to protect the legacy of our beautiful house.”
Creed dates back to 1760, when it was begun by James Henry Creed during the reign of King George III of England. Creed was first established as a tailor and later a fragrance house. Over the years, the Creed family produced more than 200 perfumes, including the cult bestselling men’s fragrance Aventus Cologne, Viking, Himalaya and Green Irish Tweed.
Based in Paris, with a factory in nearby Fontainebleau, Creed manufactures many of its own essences using a traditional infusion technique that enables the brand to maintain the quality and authenticity of its fragrances.
The brand this week launched two new scents under the name Amber Universe.
Other fragrance brands in Kering Beauté’s portfolio include Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Pomellato and Qeelin.